We learned a lot about sex in 2017, and we have science to thank. Among other things, researchers came one step closer to pinpointing the elusive “gay gene,” they found that being sexually active may change the way a woman’s immune system operates and they debunked the idea that pornography necessarily promotes sexism and misogyny. Let’s take a closer look at these and some of the other incredible things we learned about sex this year.

The Year in Sex Research: 10 Things Science Taught Us in 2017

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It says a lot about the Trump era’s dislocations that liberals—in the space of one weekend—went from hailing the Parkland kids as America’s last, best hope, to hungrily fantasizing that Stormy Daniels’ interview with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes was going to blow up the MAGA Death Star for good. On Saturday, Emma Gonzalez, her cohorts and the movement they’ve launched, lived up to those expectations and then some.

Stormy Daniels Knows What She's Doing

After Ezell Ford was shot by police in 2014, a group of activists held an 18-day occupation at LAPD headquarters. One of them was Shamell Bell, a dancer and community activist who is now a PhD candidate at UCLA. She says being there day and night, and dealing with constant police harassment, took its toll on the protestors. In an effort to uplift everyone’s morale, she made a suggestion. “I said, ‘Let’s do something that’s going to make us happy.

Busting a Move(ment): How Dancing in the Streets Became Civil Disobedience

When one casually strolls down the drug store aisle of condoms and lubes, they’re likely entering the experience with little knowledge. When choosing from the selection of boxes strung side by side, we’ll usually stop on the most colorful package promoting something flashy like an “intense tingle,“ then casually toss it in our carts, along with unnecessarily large condoms so the cashier knows what’s up. (Wink, wink.) This is the wrong way to approach lubricants.

Let's Get Wet: A Lubricant Guide for Every Possible Scenario

As a sex researcher, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing my work discussed in the media. After all, sex is a subject about which almost everyone is intensely curious. However, the tone that has greeted my work and the work of my colleagues has begun to change. It has gotten downright scary, reaching the point where at least one sex scientist I know regularly relocates her research lab to unannounced locations.

The Growing Right-Wing Assault on Sex Research

Denying, or at best downgrading, Russian interference in the 2016 election while attacking Barack Obama’s failure to interfere with Russia’s nonexistent (or maybe just irrelevant) interference is classic Donald Trump.

The Year in Sex Research: 10 Things Science Taught Us in 2017

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